The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to compensate farmers of four districts for the losses suffered by them instead of “compensating” liquor and mining contractors. The party also demanded action against distilleries and excise officers, who had “caused losses of thousands of crores to the exchequer”.
Addressing a press conference, senior SAD leader Prem Singh Chandumajra alleged that Rs 826-crore concessions were given to liquor and mining contractors despite the fact that the state lost excise revenue of Rs 5,600 crore in the last three years.
He alleged nothing was being done to compensate farmers of Patiala, Ropar, Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib districts for “extremely low” wheat yield due to excessive rains.
He said the farmers of these districts had suffered a loss of Rs 350 crore due to a 2-lakh metric tonne drop in yield against last year.
